Home Again
by lulamae-golightly
Summary: Audrey Horne, now an FBI Special Agent, returns to Twin Peaks on vacation.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: There have been a few stories like this already written, but I decided to put my own interpretation of the plotline out there. Post-series, obviously.**

**Twin Peaks doesn't belong to me.**

Audrey Horne needed a vacation. She didn't think so herself, but her supervisor was practically pushing her out the door. After working for the FBI for almost a decade, she had seen and experienced many things, both amazing and nearly traumatizing. But she loved it, as crazy as it was.

So why was she driving back to Twin Peaks, Washington on this fine vacation? She wasn't even sure if she knew the answer. She just felt herself being pulled back to the place she once loved. As she drove slowly through the town, she found that not much had changed. The same gray skies and abundance of trees, the same flickering neon store signs. Dusk was falling as she pulled into the Great Northern. Her old home.

After escaping the bank explosion, she fled from Washington State and went to school at Quantico. Now she toted around a badge with her face and the letters FBI on it. Twin Peaks still lingered in her mind every day. Finally Ben Horne's little daughter was all grown up. She secretly delighted in the fact she did what everyone thought she couldn't do. _I'm sure gonna surprise them_, she thought with a bit of a smug smirk.

She checked into the hotel and roamed the halls, which hadn't changed too much. The wallpaper was actually starting to peel a bit. She slipped her heels off as she stepped into her hotel room, then flopped down on the bed. It was familiar. She was home.

She gathered enough energy to slip her clothes off and change into her nightgown, then crawled under the covers and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Audrey dressed in one of her more casual clothes; a sweater and pencil skirt, and set out to see what the town of Twin Peaks was like now. She stopped by a strip mall, and as soon as she walked into a clothes store, she noticed someone all the way across the store.<em><br>_

"Audrey Horne!" a familiar voice called.

"Sheriff Truman!" she replied, embracing an old acquaintance. "It sure has been awhile, hasn't it?"

"No kidding! Where'd you come from?"

"Washington DC. I work for the FBI now." she showed him her badge. He looked genuinely surprised and impressed.

"Well, Miss Audrey...it is still 'miss'?"

"Yeah. Never found anyone."

The sheriff frowned. "Can't understand why."

She shrugged. "Doesn't bother me." It was a bit of lie; she did wish she had someone to wake up next to and someone to love her completely. But there was still one man who lingered in her mind, though she knew she should've gotten over him by now.

"So how is the FBI?"

"Scary, sometimes. You see and go through a lot of things. But I love it. I knew instantly it was what I wanted to do."

"Wow. I honestly never expected you end up as Special Agent." he shook his head in amazement. "When I met you, you were a little girl."

Audrey chuckled. All she could do was shrug. "How's Twin Peaks treating you?"

"Same as always. I'm getting older. I could retire soon if I wanted to."

"Do you?"

"Not yet. I love what I do."

She smiled. "Well, that's good."

"You're just here on vacation?"

"Yeah, just for a little while. But I'll remember to keep in touch when I leave this time around."

"You better. I'll talk to you later, Audrey. You're staying at the Great Northern, right?"

"Of course," she smiled. They shared another hug and she moseyed out of the store.

* * *

><p>Twin Peaks still had the small-town feel, but the eerie, uneasy small-town feel. She still couldn't believe she was eighteen when she left the town, and now she was twenty-nine. She had grown into a woman with a strong heart. So much had changed from when she had left; maybe not scenically, but she saw the town in a different way. She knew the horrors and secrets of it. Though the Laura Palmer case was long-solved, it was not long-forgotten.<p>

After her little afternoon roundabout, she decided to stop into the Double R for dinner. Barely anyone was there. She sat down and ordered a salad, some fries on the side, and a chocolate malt. She felt a little lonely watching couples and friends go in and out. She felt like a visitor that didn't know anyone. At first the idea of coming back home was exciting, but now she felt like the outsider looking in.

She suddenly was pulled away from her thoughts by a familiar, deep voice in the booth behind her. "And a cup of-"

"Black coffee?" the waitress finished for him.

He chuckled and Audrey swore her heart fluttered. _It couldn't be...shouldn't he have left by now? _

"Yes, thank you." he thanked the waitress and she strutted off to get his order. When she returned with Audrey's order, she thanked the waitress and the man in the booth behind her immediately turned around. "I know that voice." he said.

She was met with a pair of brown eyes that had appeared in more of her dreams than she'd like to admit. "Hi," she said, breathless.

"Audrey." her name was a full sentence to him.

"Agent Cooper."

**A/N: Sorry for the short first chapter, I'll try to put the next one up soon. Thanks for reading!**

**-Lulamae**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. :)**

**Twin Peaks doesn't belong to me.**

Cooper almost laughed at the way Audrey addressed him. He hadn't been called "Agent Cooper" in years now. He was "Assistant Sheriff Cooper" now. After everything he had overcome, every demon he had fought, he could see why people wondered why he stayed in Twin Peaks. It wasn't as if he didn't wake up some nights, in a cold sweat as a nightmare lingered in his mind. He resigned from the FBI; the emotional toll was a little too much to bear. He had been working as the sheriff's assistant for awhile now, having come out of isolation only a few years ago.

When he heard about the bank explosion shortly after it happened so long ago, he himself had been pretty wounded, and he had wanted to go see Audrey. When he finally did, she had fled Twin Peaks. He never got to say goodbye, and that made him sadder than anything at the time. It was another reason for his isolation.

"That's Assistant Sheriff Cooper to you," he corrected. He gestured to his booth. "Join me?"

She balanced her food in her hands and slid into the seat in front of him. He couldn't believe how beautiful she had become. Her eyes still had that little twinkle that they had when she was eighteen. Her face had matured slightly, as well as her body. Audrey Horne, a woman. "Assistant Sheriff? What's that about?"

"I just...the FBI left me with many emotional and physical problems that I knew, eventually, I had to break away from." he admitted. He didn't feel like telling her the whole story; it was far too depressing.

"Wasn't that a bit of Twin Peaks' fault, too? This town has caused a lot of trouble to you."

"Well, yes, but I love this town. It's a comfort. I knew I always wanted to stay."

She studied him for awhile. "There's something you're not telling me, Agent...oh, um..."

He chuckled. "Dale. Dale is fine. Yes, I'm not telling you everything; at least not now. Later, yes. That is, if that's what you want."

She smiled gently. "I do."

"So where have you been?"

"Washington DC." she secretly loved how his eyes widened in surprise.

"What are you doing there?"

"Being a Special Agent."

"Audrey Horne!" he exclaimed. "A Special Agent? For the FBI?"

She only smiled in reply, showing him her badge.

He leaned back, his pie and coffee still untouched. "Wow. How old are you now?"

She giggled; she turned right back into a teenager around him. "Oh, you never ask a lady that, Dale."

He chuckled again and shook his head. "A Special Agent. Audrey Horne, FBI."

Audrey gave him a full-blown grin now. "That's me."

"That's amazing." he replied honestly. "You're not here on a case, are you?"

"No. I'm just here on vacation. But this _is_ Twin Peaks, something could turn up at any moment." and he couldn't disagree with that.

"Wow. I still can't believe you're sitting in front of me, Miss Audrey. I honestly thought I'd never see you again."

Her expression softened. "Oh, Agent Cooper...oops, Dale," she corrected herself. "I wish I could've said goodbye to you, but all I wanted to do was leave. I didn't think too much, I just wanted to run away. The only people I said goodbye to was my family, really, and after my father died," she stopped and shrugged. "They didn't really care that much."

"Where are they now? Your family?"

"Here, for all I know. Honestly, I should go and see them, but I barely talked to them, even when I was at Quantico. Now with my job, it's hard to telephone all the time."

Cooper nodded with a little smile. "I'm sure they'll be happy to see you. I know I am. How long are you here?"

"A couple weeks."

A couple weeks wasn't enough. He wanted her here forever; he wanted to make things right. "What happened to that boy you had for awhile? John?"

She shook her head. "We had a fling. I said a short goodbye and he wasn't too fazed. What about Annie? She still around?"

Cooper hesitated. "It's a long story, Audrey. But no, Annie is not around anymore."

Audrey gave a slight frown. "Well, I'm sorry. You did like her quite a lot, didn't you?"

"I loved her." he said solemnly. "But...like I said, a long story."

"You should tell me one day, if you want to. I'd like to hear it."

Cooper tentatively reached out and squeezed Audrey's hand. "Thank you, Miss Audrey."

"You have to stop calling me that. I'm just Audrey."

"Alright, Audrey," he smiled, standing up from the booth as she did the same. "Let's talk again?"

"Oh, of course," she replied. She reached out to shake his hand, but he instead pulled her into an embrace.

"I really missed you," he whispered. Audrey's heart melted. "I'm so glad you're back." He pulled away with a kiss on the top of her head. "Talk to you soon, Audrey."

She smiled a smile that set off a million butterflies in Cooper's stomach. "You too, Dale."

**A/N: Hope everyone is enjoying, next chapter is on its way soon (and it's longer) :)**

**-Lulamae**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hope everyone is enjoying this story so far :) I apologize if I get details wrong or if I don't write the characters right, it has not only been a little while since I've seen Twin Peaks, it's not the easiest show to write fanfic for.**

**Twin Peaks doesn't belong to me.**

"Hi mom," Audrey stood in the doorway of her mother's room at the Great Northern. After her father's death, she couldn't believe her mother still had her large suite at the hotel. Inheritance, probably.

"Audrey!" her mother exclaimed. "My God, I can't believe you're back home. I thought you never would come back," she invited her in. "Do you realize I haven't seen you in over ten years?"

"Yes, mom," Audrey chortled a little.

"Does this mean you'll be home for Christmas?"

_Christmas. Christmas!_ She didn't realize it was dawning on the holiday season. Time had slipped away from her. "I guess I will be. I forgot it was December."

Her mother hooted. "You used to make fun of me for saying time went by fast. Where are you staying?"

"Um, here." Audrey replied.

"Oh! You have to stay here, with us, Audrey!"

She fought not to roll her eyes. As a teenager, she was told to leave her parents alone and to find something to do. Now she was being told to stay. "I...I'll think about it, ma. Where's Johnny?"

"Probably in his room. Johnny!" she called for her son. The boy came slowly into the room, but when he saw his sister his eyes lit up and she ran to embrace him.

"I thought you would never come home," Johnny mumbled. Audrey laughed.

"I'll always come back for you, Johnny. Always."

The brother held his sister tight. "Can you stay?"

"Not forever. But for awhile."

Johnny broke away reluctantly. "Okay. But you can't leave 'til we say so."

Audrey laughed. "Okay, Johnny. Not 'til you say so."

* * *

><p>She spent the rest of the day with her mother and brother, glad to be with them again but when she finally escaped from her mother's suite, she heaved a sigh of relief. Audrey didn't mind her brother's questions about her being a Special Agent; she minded her mother shutting him down and calling his questions silly and interrupting him. She hated her mother's questions as to why she didn't have a husband yet.<p>

She slipped her heels off and carried them in her hand as she strolled the halls. She took a long flight of stairs down to the lobby to sit by the fireplace for awhile and maybe read. She found someone had had the same idea. "Hey stranger," she poked Cooper's arm playfully.

He looked up from his book like he was waking from a dream. "Oh, Audrey," his features softened and the smile he gave her made her feel like she was floating. "How are you?"

"Do you still live here?"

"The Great Northern? No. I have my own house, but I met a friend here and I decided to stay for a little while. Come, sit down."

Audrey was happy to accept his invitation. "Where do you live now?"

"By the lake."

She smiled. "I'm glad you chose to stay."

"What are you doing here?"

"I just went to see my mother and needed to escape after...all that."

Cooper prodded her to go on. "I don't know," Audrey sighed. "She's a little overbearing. Is it really that odd to be a woman in your twenties and not be married yet? Especially in this day and age..."

He glanced down at her red manicured nails, seeing no ring. "It's not odd in this day and age," he began. "But I can see why she'd think it would be unusual. You're a beautiful woman, Audrey."

Audrey's cheeks reddened. "You don't need to say that, Dale..."

"Of course I do. It's the truth. Frankly, I was a little surprised someone hadn't swept you off your feet and given you happily ever after yet. You certainly deserve it."

_I only want happily ever after with _you, she thought. "You're too kind," she tried to hide her blush.

"I truly mean it, Audrey. Are you staying for Christmas?"

Happy for a change of subject, she nodded. "New Year's too, if I can."

"I'm glad you can," he replied.

They chatted for awhile longer, easily and happily. Both of them were yawning, though neither of them wanted to leave. "I'll see you soon," Audrey said with another yawn. "Thank you for listening to me."

"It's always a pleasure to talk to you." he said. "You should come over for dinner sometime."

"I would love to," she smiled. "I just can't imagine you not living here anymore."

He chuckled. "Goodbye, Audrey. I'll see you later."

She wrapped her arms around him in a timid hug that he reciprocated. She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, cautious and light.

* * *

><p>As she stepped back into her hotel room, she noticed for the first time how...identical it was. Every other room in the Great Northern was the same, hers being no exception. After the visit with her mother, Twin Peaks felt less and less like a home.<p>

Somehow, though, when she was with Cooper, all her worries and troubles faded away. When she was with him, she felt home.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! :) Please leave reviews.**

**-Lulamae**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Twin Peaks doesn't belong to me.**

The day before Christmas Eve, it began to snow. Audrey remembered being a wide-eyed little girl, marveling at the white snowflakes continually falling throughout the day. She bundled up and took a morning walk.

As she walked along the lake, now frozen over, she heard a voice call out, "Audrey!" Donna Hayward was ice skating toward her from across the lake. "Audrey!" she repeated, out of breath as she stumbled through the snow. "Wow! Audrey! What are you doing here? I haven't seen you since school got out."

"Well, what are you doing here, Donna?"

"Oh, I'm just here to see my family for the holidays," she looked her former classmate up and down. "Why didn't you stay? Your dad was gonna pass down the Great Northern to you!"

"I know, and if mom dies, I get it. But I wanted other things, I guess."

Donna lit a cigarette and offered Audrey one, but she declined, though it was hard to. As an Agent, she couldn't start up a destructive habit like that again. "So where do you live now?"

"Washington DC. I'm an FBI Special Agent."

Donna looked surprised; the same expression everyone had on their face when Audrey told them about her career. "Did you know Agent Cooper...well, he's not Agent Cooper anymore...anyway, did you know he still lives here?"

"Yes, I've seen him around."

"Remember when you used to have that crush on him?" Donna chuckled in the way women do when reminiscing with their highschool girl friends. "He really hasn't changed, from what I've seen of him. He's a little quieter. You used to look at him with gaga eyes, remember that?"

Audrey really hoped her pink cheeks looked like they were from the cold. "Yes, I do. But that's gone now."

"Have you got anyone now? Boyfriend, husband?"

Audrey simply shook her head.

"Well, maybe Dale Cooper will see what he missed out on. I'll see you later, Audrey," Donna waved and skated away.

Audrey continued on her walk until it was interrupted by her cell phone ringing. She reluctantly took the call. "Hello?"

"Hello, Special Agent Audrey? This is assistant director Glenn." the deep voice of her director and supervisor came over the phone.

"Yes?"

"I know I was going to let you have a longer vacation, but we need you back December 26th." the man explained.

She tried desperately not to sigh. "Alright. Thank you for letting me know." she abruptly ended the call. She had been in Twin Peaks for just over a week. Her old home, though, did not open her with warm arms; things had become distant. She didn't know where she belonged, but she didn't think it was Twin Peaks anymore, as sad as that made her.

* * *

><p>A couple was kissing under a mistletoe at the Double R. Audrey stopped in for a cup of hot chocolate and found Cooper in his regular booth. "Hi," she slid in with her hot chocolate. "How do I always run into you here?"<p>

He smiled. "I guess you just know where to find me. How was your day?"

"Oh, the same. How was yours?"

"The same," he replied. "Are you in the Christmas mood?"

"I guess," she shrugged nonchalantly. "Are you?"

"To be honest, Audrey, I'm so not in the spirit that I'm nearly apathetic to Christmas."

Audrey frowned. "Is it because you don't have anyone to celebrate with?"

"I suppose it is."

An idea suddenly came to her. "Tomorrow. Why don't we celebrate tomorrow, together?"

"But don't you have family here?'

"I do, but I'll see them on the 25th. C'mon, Dale, wouldn't it be nice? Just us? If you want?"

"I would love to." he instinctively grabbed her hand across the table. "Thank you."

She felt like she was a naive, blushing teenager when he held her hand. "It's no problem, Dale."

After awhile, they both got up to leave, but they found themselves stuck under a mistletoe when they passed the counter. "Kiss her!" the waitress exclaimed. Audrey froze up.

"Dale, you don't have to..."

"Oh, but I want to, Audrey," he scooped her up in his arms and kissed her, at first softly and gently, but Audrey kissed him back harder, letting her hands wander his hair. The kiss was deep with years of longing. When he heard her make a little "mmh" sound into the kiss, he had to pull away, not wanting his thoughts to turn impure. The cafe laughed and clapped as they both blushed.

"That was nice," Audrey said as they stepped out the cafe. Their arms were linked.

"The hot chocolate or...?"

She nudged him. "Dale, you know what I mean. Did you think it was nice?"

"It was." he sounded a bit bashful, which Audrey found quite cute. "I'd like to do it again sometime."

Audrey laughed. "Me, too."

* * *

><p>Audrey came to his small house bright and early Christmas Eve. He greeted her with a warm hug. The house was perfectly Cooper-esque; no one else could've lived there. The house smelled of wood and coffee, there were nature pictures hung on the wall, and a small tree in the living room. On the mantle there were pictures of his friends.<p>

"Oh, look at all these pictures! There's Sheriff Truman and Lucy, and Denise...oh, I miss Denise...and Shelly...and there's me." She took down the frame and looked at the picture of her and Cooper in the Great Northern, chatting and looking deep into each other's eyes.

"I don't know who took that one; I think it was Harry, he likes to joke with me like that. But it was a nice picture and after you left..."

"Aww, Dale, did you miss me?"

He returned her playful grin. "Why wouldn't I, Audrey?" She wanted to grab him and kiss him right there and then.

They spent their day together, took a walk in the snow, drank rich dark coffee, and when evening fell they exchanged presents.

"When do you leave?" Cooper asked as they sipped soup.

"Day after tomorrow."

His brow furrowed. "I thought you said you were going to stay for New Years."

"I was planning to," she replied, "But they called me back earlier."

"Oh," was all that he could reply with.

"But I'll be back. And you know where to find me now." she gave him a wink.

He gave her a weak smile. He knew he would miss her. After watching his old friends leave Twin Peaks, after BOB and the Black Lodge and everything, he had felt so empty. He didn't want to feel that again. "Dale?" her voice broke through his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"What happened to Annie? If you want to talk about it..."

He beckoned her to sit on the couch with him. "Let me tell you about it."

And he described everything, trying to piece together the few shattered memories that he had tried to hide away. He told her that Annie left, because he had almost hurt her. He told her about BOB and Laura Palmer and the angel in the Black Lodge. When his story ended, his eyes were wet and he realized he had never fully described what happened to him until Audrey asked.

Audrey stared at him with horrified and sad eyes. "Dale..." she sighed. "I can't believe you had to go through all that. I wish I was there. I wish I didn't run away as soon as I could."

"No, Audrey, you did amazing things. I hid myself away."

She didn't know what to say, she only embraced him and let him bury his face in her neck. A few tears slipped from his eyes and she wiped them away. "Audrey, I don't want to hurt you."

"You never could."

"I thought I could never hurt Annie...or Caroline."

"But was that you that hurt Annie? No, it was BOB."

"I don't know, Audrey, I've cared for you ever since I met you. I knew I wanted to protect you."

She kissed him. "I know you will. I trust you."

He couldn't say anything; she had a talent for putting him at a loss for words. He only kissed her again and held her close. "I missed you so much, Dale. Come back to DC with me."

"I wish I could, Audrey," his voice was soft and yearning. "I wish I could."

**A/N: Merry Christmas :) Please leave a review!**

**-Lulamae**


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